Rolling mill



June 21, J, FA L ROLLING MILL Filed Oct. 4. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESS June 21, 1932. J, E, FAwELL 4 1,864,299

ROLLING MILL Filed Oct. 4, 1.928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 21, 1932" UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH IE. FAWELL, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 'I'O INDUSTRIAL METHODS (JOINII'AIETY,OIF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORYORATION OF DELA- WARE Routine mu.

- Application filed October 4, 1928. Serial No. 310,219.

I of this type of rolling mills to the end that the working rolls and their backing sleeves and mandrels may be more readily placed in and-removed'from the housing; that the f backing sleeves may have increased strength to resist deflection, and may be more accurately placed and heldin roll-supporting positions; and-that there may be greater pressure between the working rolls and their supporting sleeves to increase the rotatingforce applied by the former to the latter.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is an end view o'f a rolling mill, certain portions being shown in section; Fig. 2 a combined face and vertical central sectional view of the mill; and Fig. 3 a plan view of the mill.

In the mill provided accordingto this invention upper and lower working rolls 1 and 2 of relativel small diameters and of cylin .drical form or rolling sheet metal are suitably mounted in. a housing 3, the'ends of the a rolls being shaped to receive 'wabblers for driving them. The roll hecks are shown as being mounted in plain bearings, the nec'ks of upper roll 1 are mounted in bearing cages 4, and those of lower roll 2 in bearing cages 5. For positioning the rolls with their axes parallel to each other, and for so maintaining them, the housing is provided with adjusting bolts 6 (Fig. 1) the inner ends of which abut against blocks 7 which bear upon the ends of cages 4 and 5-. These bolts are provided at their outer ends with angular heads for turning them, and they may be locked in adjusted positions by nuts 8. The rolls are held against endwise movements by suitable keeper plates 9 which engage the outer faces of cages 4 and 5 and are adjustably attached to the roll housing by bolts 10. t

Arranged above and below the working rolls there are fixed mandrels 15 and 16, on whichthere are rotatably mounted sleeves -17 19 for receiving a set of' roller bearings.

24a. By tig engag ng one of a plurality of notches and 18, respectively, for supporting the working rolls agamst deflection. Each end of each sleeve 1s provided with an annular recess Since the construction of, mandrel 15, sleeve- 17 and the roller bearings between them may be, and preferably is the same asthat of mandrel. 16, sleeve 18 and the bearings 'be-. tween them, further detail description willbe confined to the upper mandrel and sleeve.

Each roller bearing comprises a bearing ring 20 mounted on mandrel 15 adjacent to its end, bearing rings 21 mounted on the walls of the recesses 19 of the sleeve, and

conical roller bearings 22 arranged between these rings. At the rightside of the mill as. yiewed in Fig. 2, a narrow'backing ring 23 1s arrangedbetween bearing'ring. 20 and a block 24 supporting the right end of the mandrel which is threaded to receive a nut 25 abutting against the outer face of block 24;. At the left" side of the mill a longer backing ring'23a is arranged between bearing ring 20 and-a nut 26 screwed upon the mandrel, ringl23a extending through a block tening nut 26 upon the mandrel, nut25 is brought to bear against block 24, and backing ring 23a is forced against bearing ring 20' at the left of the mill to posi-' tion rings 20 between the sleeve and mandrel, and hence the sleeve upon the mandrel. Nuts 25 and 26 are locked, and in consequence thereof the mandrel is held in fixed position, by dogs 27 attached to blocks 24 and 24a and formed on the periphery of the nuts. Blocks 24 and 2411 are provided with flanges 28 (Fig.

1) which bear against the outer faces of housing 3. Spanning the gap between the end of sleeve 17 and the peripheries of backing rings 23 and 23a, there are cover plates 30 bolted to the end of the sleeve and provided on their inner faces with flanges which bear against the outermost of the pairs of rings 21.

The roller bearings are run in a suitable a lubricant such as oil or grease placed in recesses 19 and retained therein by suitable packings arranged between cover plates 30 and backing rings 23' and 23a. Between its end recesses 19, sleeve 17 is substantiallyin \00 in their upward position by spring mechanism; although as far as concerns some features of the invention any suitable balancing means may be used, As here illustrated, each end of mandrel is engaged by an eye 7 36 pivotally attached by a pin 37 to the lower end of a suspension bar 38, the upper. end of which is attached to the lower end of a rod 39 extending upwardly through a shelf 40 connected to the housing, and also upwardly through a floating bar 41, the upper end of each rod 39 being provided with an adjusting nut 42. At the sides of rod 39 there are rods 43,which also'extend through shelf 40 and bar 41. Surrounding rods 39 and 43 there are springs 34 which hear at their upper and lower ends against bar 41 and shelf 40, the tension of which springs may be varied by adjusting the nuts 42 on rods 39. At their lower ends rods 43 are provided with nuts 45 for a purpose presently to be explained.

While various means may be provided for positioning the adjusting screws, each is here shown as having a worm wheel 50 keyed for longitudinal movement upon and for rotation with the upper end of the screw. Through suitable reduction gears 51, each of these worm wheels is adapted to be independently rotated by a reversible motor 52, and for effecting simultaneous adjustments of the screws a suitable clutch 53 is arranged between the driven shafts of the two motors and adapted to be controlled by a lever 54.

For urging the working rolls intofirm bearing contact with the sleeves to properly efl'ect rotation of the latter by the former, cages 5 are provided-with rods GO'eXtending upwardly through them, and surrounding each of these rods there is a spring 61 which bears against the bottom of the cage and against a shoulder 62 formed on the rod. At their lower ends, rods are provided with nuts 65 for restraining the action of splin s 61 while the working rolls are being place d in and removed from the housing. The cages for the upper working rolls are provided with rods 63, screw threaded at their lower ends for vertical adjustments in the cages and provided at their upper ends with nuts 64 for holding them in their adjusted positions. The lower ends of rods 63 abut against the upper ends of rods 60, and by adjusting the positions of rods 63 the tension in springs 61 may be altered to apply a variable pressure y such between the rolls with resulting variations the pressures of tive mandrels.

the rolls upon their respec As shown in Fig. 1, the roll housing is protightened on these rods so that springs 61 will cease to act upon rods 60 to force the upper working roll against sleeve 17. With the several parts thus adjusted, eyes 36, nuts 25 and 26 and blocks 24 and 24a may be removed,

arranged in lower working roll cages 5 are suspension rods 38 disconnected from eyes 36, and the unit then removed longitudinally fromthe hon-sin With the upper backing sleeve unit in its upper position and nuts 65 so adjusted on rods 60 that the rolls are not separated by the ac- I tion of springs 61, the pair of working rolls and their hearing cages may then be removed simultaneously, after which the lower backlng unit may be removed. If desired, a truck orbuggy may be run through the housing w1ndow orwindows for carrying the backmg units to and from the housing.

The mill here provided is primarily for rolling sheet metal without substantial variations in its thickness from edge to edge of the pass. The rolling'is eflected by small diameter working rolls having well known advan tages, and the rolls are backed by very rigid sleeves which are mounted upon strong mandrels. Accordingly, the' working rolls are held against deflection, and because the sleeves rotate readily upon roller bearings there is no thermal expansion of the sleeves due to frictionally generated heat. The working rolls and their backing sleeves may be readily adjusted to place their several axes in proper positions, and each may be conveniently removed from the disassembling its mounting. v

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention, and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its 'best embodiment. However, I

desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended .claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described I claim as my invention: I 1. A rolling mill comprising a housing, upper and lower working rolls mounted: in the houslng, upper and lower backing sleeves roll housing without for the rolls, upper and lower fixed mandrels extending through said sleeves, roller bearings between said mandrels and sleeves for rotatably supporting the latter, yielding means arranged on the outer' faces of the housing engaging the ends of said upper mandrel and suspending it and its surrounding sleeve in variable upper positions, and yielding means acting between said working rolls for urging them into firm bearing con tact with their respective supporting sleeves.

2. A rolling mill comprising a, housing, upper and lower working rolls mounted in the housing, upper and lower backing sleeves for the rolls, upper and lower fixedmandrels extending through said sleeves, roller bearings between said mandrels and sleeves for rotatably supporting the latter, suspension rods arranged on the outer faces of the hous ingengaging the ends of said upper mandrel, springs acting between said rods and the housing for holding the upper mandrel upwardly, and yielding means acting. between said working rolls for urging them into firm bearing contact with their respective supporting sleeves.

3. A rolling mill comprising a housing, upper and lower working rolls mounted in the housing, upper and lower backing sleeves for the rolls, upper and lower fixed mandrels extending through said sleeves, roller bearings between said mandrels and sleeves for rotatably supporting the latter, eyes surrounding the ends of said upper mandrel,

suspension rods removably attached at their lower ends to said eyes, springs acting between the upper ends of said rods and the housing for holding the upper mandrel upwardly, and yielding means acting between said working rolls for urging them-into firm bearing contact with their respectivefsupporting sleeves.

4. A rolling mill comprising a housing,

upper and lower working rolls mounted in 1 the housing, upper and lower backing sleeves for the rolls, upper and lower fixed mandrels extending through said sleeves, roller bearings between said mandrels and sleeves for rotatably supporting the latter, yielding means arranged on-the outer faces of the housing engaging the ends of said upper mandrel and suspending it and its surrounding sleeve in their upper position, and springs acting between the ends of said working rolls for urging them away from each other and into firm bearing contact with their respective supporting sleeves.

5. A rolling mill comprising a. housing, upper and lower working rolls mounted at their ends in bearing cages arranged in the housing, upper and lower backingsleeves for the rolls, upper and lower fixed mandrels extending through said sleeves, roller bearings between said lnandrels and sleeves for rotatably supporting the latter, yielding JOSEPH E. FAWELL. 

